


Hidden Inside a Mission Scroll

by Jubokko, LazarusII



Series: KakaIru One-Shots to Heal (or Break) Your Heart [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff, KakaIru Fest, KakaIru Week 2020, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Hatake Kakashi, Post-ANBU Kakashi, Umino Iruka is an Amazing Human Bean, emotions are hard, kakairu - Freeform, shy kakashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26377537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jubokko/pseuds/Jubokko, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazarusII/pseuds/LazarusII
Summary: It had been rather simple, truth be told, and yet somehow the act of leaving a small origami heart in the mission scroll had been more difficult than any S-rank mission Kakashi had ever encountered.He was beyond terrified, the blazing heat of embarrassment flushing his face crimson....The moment Kakashi’s fingers closed around the new scroll held out shakily in the chunin’s hand, he instantly disappeared, body-flickering out of the mission room as quickly as he could manage.And that was how Hatake Kakashi, master of a thousand jutsu, gave his first confession of love to the cute chunin sensei at the mission desk.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Series: KakaIru One-Shots to Heal (or Break) Your Heart [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821832
Comments: 14
Kudos: 261
Collections: KakaIru Week 2020





	Hidden Inside a Mission Scroll

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> This work is for KakaIru-Fest’s [“KakaIru Week 2020”](https://kakairu-fest.tumblr.com/post/620892953857146880/were-excited-to-reveal-the-prompts-for-kakairu)! This fic does a bit of both prompts: “confessions” and “health.”  
> Note that, in this fic, Kashi has only _just_ left the ANBU, so he's still... struggling a bit with readjusting to normal life. The rating might seem a bit overkill considering the content of this fic, but there is a fair amount of swearing!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

It had been rather simple, truth be told, and yet somehow the act of leaving a small origami heart in the mission scroll had been more difficult than any S-rank mission Kakashi had ever encountered. 

He was beyond terrified, the blazing heat of embarrassment flushing his face crimson. 

“Kakashi… san?” Iruka was gazing up at him, brow furrowed slightly, large dark eyes reflecting mild confusion.

The moment Kakashi’s fingers closed around the scroll held out shakily in the chunin’s hand, he instantly disappeared, body-flickering out of the mission room as quickly as he could manage. 

And that was how Hatake Kakashi, master of over a thousand jutsu, gave his first confession of love to the cute chunin sensei at the mission desk. 

  
  


Kakashi slumped against the cabinets of his apartment minutes later, and a hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose. What had he been  _ thinking _ ? 

He was Kakashi of the Sharingan, the cold-blooded killer without mercy—an elite jounin with a reputation of being standoffish, surrounded by a whole host of rumors which all pointed towards him being Konoha’s most ‘uneligible’ bachelor. Plus, he was fresh out of ANBU, so most of the chunin and jounin who frequented the desk didn’t know him. 

Hell, even the mission desk _ staff _ didn’t really know him. 

—And he’d just half-assed his way through nonverbaly flirting to a chunin who was probably not even single. 

Iruka had gone scarlet, a thumb pressing against the poorly-folded red paper, eyes scanning the first mission report that Kakashi had ever managed to submit on time—and legibly. 

Kakashi didn’t know what the blush on the chunin’s face had meant. Had it been sheer embarrassment? Guilt? Shame? 

Slamming the new mission scroll down onto the counter, Kakashi gazed at its contents. Missing nin on the Southern border. B-rank, but with the potential to climb up to A, or even S-rank. 

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi pushed up his hitai-ate and gave it a once-over with the sharingan. 

_ Remember the mission—forget today _ , he told himself, feeling the burning sensation return to his cheeks.  _ You blew it, Hatake, so take the consequences.  _

* * *

The mission room was filled with a cool breeze the next time that Kakashi set foot inside. Regardless of the crisp air and the comfortable temperature, however, the atmosphere seemed to grow increasingly stifling as he approached the desk. 

Iruka was there—the  _ only  _ person without a line, comfortably sitting back and staring out one of the open windows. 

Kakashi tried not to stare, to focus  _ too  _ much on the way the afternoon sun highlighted the chunin’s jawline and facial features. Cute, but also handsome—

Swallowing, Kakashi approached the chunin and pulled the mission scroll from his pocket. He felt like a child again—unsure how to proceed, all sense of emotional control lost in the presence of the Umino Iruka. 

“Hello, Kakashi-san.” Iruka greeted him with a warm smile and held out a hand, seemingly oblivious to the jounin’s nervousness. Kakashi noticed the faintest traces of a flush creeping across the chunin’s cheeks. 

But it could’ve been anything, even a trick of the light. 

After looking over Kakashi’s scroll, Iruka nodded slightly, eyes crinkling. “The report looks good to me. Thank you for your service.” 

Kakashi nodded in return, mute. Did it still count as flirting for him to actually  _ try  _ with his handwriting? To submit a report that wasn’t decorated with mud and bloodstains? 

Not that Kakashi  _ hadn’t _ enjoyed the scarlet-faced reaction that followed and the attention… but sometimes he just liked seeing the chunin smile.

And even after everything, after the months of verbal sparring, Kakashi had come to realize that he could still be at the receiving end of such a warm expression. 

“Kakashi-san?” A scroll was in front of Kakashi, held in Iruka’s hand. 

“Ah, apologies, Sensei.” 

He took the mission scroll and was about to turn away when he noticed the redness on Iruka’s face deepen significantly. For a moment, there was only a painful silence—and then a nearby desk worker elbowed Iruka. 

The chunin jumped, went a spectacular shade of scarlet, bowed slightly, and wished Kakashi safe travels. A clear dismissal. 

Offering Iruka a hasty salute, Kakashi disappeared as fast as he could. 

This time, it was several hours before he dared open the new mission scroll.

Standing in his living room, the ninken happily chowing down on the treats he’d given them, Kakashi nearly missed the small object when it fluttered down from the innermost curl of the scroll. 

The ninken laughed at his expression, but Kakashi didn’t care. 

Iruka’s small origami flower found a home in the center of the kitchen counter, held in place by a weighted clip, but it was soon joined by others as Kakashi and Iruka fell into a routine. 

Small feathers, origami, trinkets—they passed between the two of them in secret, and the crimson blushes soon gave way to honest smiles. 

Soon, Kakashi even gathered the courage to respond to the well wishes sent in his direction. By that point, however, it was clear that the rest of the mission desk staff knew of his and Iruka’s antics. But much to Kakashi’s relief and gratitude, the chunin workers were courteous enough not to laugh at his fumbled replies.

A nagging part of Kakashi desperately wanted to do  _ more _ , but every time he found himself in the presence of Umino Iruka, he would quite literally freeze on the spot, as if his brain could no longer handle the fact that the man was smiling  _ back _ . 

When Kakashi left the mission room each time, he wanted to smack himself upside the head for losing his cool, for not just  _ asking  _ the man out like a normal person. 

But then again, when had Kakashi ever been “normal?” 

He liked the thrill as much as he hated it—the butterflies in his stomach, the small acts of love, the mad scramble to even say a few words without suffocating on his own lack of coherent thought. The interactions with Iruka were what he looked forward to—a bright patch in what had so far been a lifetime of darkness. 

Besides, being “normal” was overrated. 

* * *

The cycle broke nearly a month later when Kakashi walked into the mission room to find Iruka mysteriously absent. Ducking out quickly, he removed a small feather from the scroll—one that he’d brought back from the outskirts of the Land of Fire—and fell into one of the other lines, bouncing the report in his palm. 

When the chunin desk worker took the scroll from him, Kakashi found round, blue eyes staring up in his direction. It was almost a jarring sight to behold as he had become so accustomed to Iruka’s large brown ones. 

“Thank you Hatake-san,” the woman nodded to him before looking through his report. “It looks good to me.” 

Kakashi hummed slightly, half-listening as his eyes slid down the long table to where Iruka usually sat. 

“Iruka-sensei just got back from a mission,” the woman’s hushed voice drew Kakashi’s attention. “I think that he’d appreciate it very much if you visited him. He’s been in the hospital for the last two days.” 

It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice over Kakashi’s head. Struggling to contain the fear which had exploded inside his chest, he leaned in slightly, eyes narrowing. 

The woman leaned back, a flash of fear running across her face. “From what I heard, it was chakra depletion, nothing too severe—” 

Not even bothering to take a new mission, Kakashi wove a series of hand signs and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The hospital room was fairly dark when Kakashi entered. Unsure of what to do, he hovered on the doorframe, peering inside. 

Iruka was lying down, the blankets pulled up to his chin. Even through the layers, Kakashi could recognize the chunin’s strong build and toned muscle. That alone was enough to make him hesitate. 

Would Iruka be  _ comfortable  _ with his presence? Was he overstepping? 

The chunin sensei shifted, and slowly worked himself onto his elbows, fixing Kakashi was a look—an eyebrow raised. 

“Well, are you going to just stand there?”

Clearing his throat softly, Kakashi closed the door behind him and made his way to the chair in the corner of the room. 

“ _ Really _ ?” Kakashi could hear the smile in Iruka’s voice, and the teasing undertones. 

He abruptly changed course and took the seat next to the bed, just beneath the window. Iruka shook his head slowly, eyes crinkling. 

“How are you feeling?” Kakashi tried to compose himself, but, as always in Iruka’s presence, failed miserably. 

“I’m feeling better now.” The chunin replied, wrinkled his nose. “Still dragging, but I can actually move.” 

“Ah, that’s good to hear.” 

“The nurse says one more day before I can return back to the house.” Iruka sighed. “I’m glad, getting tired of this place.” 

A part of Kakashi’s brain went back to all the times he’d been stuck in the same situation, except for  _ weeks  _ at a time. But the length of time didn’t matter, the hospital was just as oppressive in a week as it was for several hours. 

Somehow, Kakashi wanted to say something to express those feelings of understanding, to empathize with Iruka out loud—but his mind chose that moment to go completely blank. 

Panic wormed its way into Kakashi’s chest. 

And so his traitorous mouth did the work for him, his brain completely devoid of sense. 

“Doyouwanttoramenafter— _ shit _ .” 

Groaning, Kakashi buried his face in his hands. 

_ Fuck _ , he thought, heat rising in his face.  _ Fuck, fuck, I can’t— _

Kakashi’s train of thought promptly derailed at the sound of Iruka’s soft laughter. Numbly, he dropped his hands into his lap and slowly glanced up at the chunin. 

Iruka’s face was slightly pink, but the laugh he was giving Kakashi was warm and light, free of mirth or ill intent. Laughter subsiding, the chunin leaned towards him, a hand finding the petrified jounin’s. 

“It’s alright, Kakashi-san,” Iruka’s face was glowing. “Ramen sounds great.” 

Kakashi squeezed Iruka’s hand slightly. “Okay—” He breathed, struggling to comprehend that this was  _ real _ .

Brown eyes sparkled, and Iruka grinned back at him, despite the lameness of Kakashi’s reply. 

“Just let me know when.” 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr [here](https://lazarusii.tumblr.com/)  
> Thank you so much for reading :))


End file.
